# The whole internet pits Dr. Oz! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 12, 2014, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-internet-pits-dr-oz/704454 "2014-11-12T15:46:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-internet-pits-dr-oz/704454/41 "2014-11-15T04:32:23Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > Placebos should be cheap or free. But then they might not be effective. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-internet-pits-dr-oz/704454/42 "2014-11-15T04:42:19Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > But then they might not be effective. Actually, placebos have been shown to work even when the patient knows they are placebos. Amazing but true. ---
**Author:** ![SDarbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@SDarbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SDarbo)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-internet-pits-dr-oz/704454/43 "2014-11-15T05:10:06Z")
I saw him one show and his stupid analogies like this plastic shield is like antioxidants, this hammer is like free radicals, this tomato is like your cells to be insipid drivel. I didn’t see any horrid information though and wondered why he had gotten a snuffed candle award. Next time I saw him he had on a woman who was reading handwriting to diagnose people and claiming that altering your handwriting will lessen your risk for certain diseases. Then I fully understood why he’d gotten a snuffed candle award. ---
**Author:** ![Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emtar_KronJonDerSohn)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-internet-pits-dr-oz/704454/44 "2014-11-15T06:03:29Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Let’s not lash out where it’s not warranted. Dr. Drew is celebrity-obsessed and an admitted narcissist, but I have never heard him pitching quackery. I grew up listening to him on Love Line. I think he genuinely wanted to help people and gave great advice with what always came across (to my civilian ears) as legitimate medical backing. And he put up with Adam Carolla for all those years to do it. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-internet-pits-dr-oz/704454/45 "2014-11-15T22:55:16Z")
It’s the nature of the show that it’s entertainment - infotainment? - which people are taking seriously because, hey, it’s hosted by a well known doctor! (He can’t very well spend an hour a day talking about hearts and cardiac surgery. He agreed to host a tabloid TV version of medical advice.) Blueberry juice, supplements, a spoonful of vinegar a day, the newest weight loss pills - all that crap cluttering the aisle in Walmart - enough already. It so smacks of Kevin Trudeau, and Prevention magazine miracle cures. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-internet-pits-dr-oz/704454/46 "2014-11-16T02:35:53Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > but they’re all cut from the same oily cloth as other megarich media gobshites like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh and \*\*Jay Leno \*\* Bolding mine. Maybe you consider him an asshole, but I don’t recall Jay Leno giving out unsupported medical advice or peddling quackery. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-internet-pits-dr-oz/704454/47 "2014-11-17T20:49:01Z")
Must be the chin. ---
**Author:** ![Long\_Time\_First\_Time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@Long\_Time\_First\_Time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Long_Time_First_Time)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-internet-pits-dr-oz/704454/48 "2014-11-17T22:40:12Z")
> [@Nuveena](#): > > The same reason Willie Sutton robbed banks. I don’t think so. I would bet it’s more about 1) filling days and days of air time on medical subjects. Even medical school only lasts 4 years. How many ways can you demonstrate the advantage of fiber if you’re constipated? and then 2) Seeing which topics gain the biggest ratings. To maintain your audience past one or two years, you’re almost forced to pitch miracle weight loss cures. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-internet-pits-dr-oz/704454/49 "2014-11-18T19:42:29Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Psychological factors are important in physical illness, too. I think placebos are under appreciated, and there is a role for them in medicine. Context matters. Yes, with the context being ok when used in trials or research studies to help measure efficacy of other drugs, but not when used as a treatment plan or marketed in retail with deceptive claims and descriptions. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-internet-pits-dr-oz/704454/50 "2014-11-25T20:56:28Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > … Did you know that apparently they don’t put 100% oxygen in the cabin, but instead put in 50% nitrogen? ) I’m glad they don’t… PURE oxygen destroys flesh, doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Strassia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@Strassia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strassia)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-internet-pits-dr-oz/704454/51 "2014-11-26T03:01:12Z")
It doesn’t destroy flesh. It will damage your eyes, but that would take longer than a flight. The real danger is fire. The spark from unplugging a USB port could light your laptop(and lap) up like you were covered in lighter fluid. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-internet-pits-dr-oz/704454/52 "2014-11-26T11:47:48Z")
Thanks for this thread. I find TV doctor shows to be boring and padded, so I don’t watch them. I think I noticed once that they were full of dorky trending ideas or something someone came up with in the absence of dorky trending ideas. So I never really noticed that Dr Oz was a quack and a charlatan pushing woo. Good to know. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-internet-pits-dr-oz/704454/53 "2015-02-04T16:39:06Z")
Dr. Oz guest must repay $9 million to customers in ‘magic beans’ diet scam [http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/01/busted-dr-oz-guest-must-repay-9-million-to-customers-in-magic-beans-diet-scam/](http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/01/busted-dr-oz-guest-must-repay-9-million-to-customers-in-magic-beans-diet-scam/) ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-internet-pits-dr-oz/704454/54 "2015-02-04T16:45:00Z")
Sweet 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-internet-pits-dr-oz/704454/55 "2015-02-04T17:04:15Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > Dr. Oz guest must repay $9 million to customers in ‘magic beans’ diet scam “Beans, beans, the magical fruit” doesn’t seem like it should be that effective of a scam. ---
**Author:** ![Zorkmid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e68b1a/32.png) [@Zorkmid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zorkmid)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-internet-pits-dr-oz/704454/56 "2015-02-04T17:47:00Z")
I don’t know. Some guys will trade their last cow just to boost the size of their beanstalk. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-internet-pits-dr-oz/704454/57 "2015-02-05T00:31:22Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > Dr. Oz guest must repay $9 million to customers in ‘magic beans’ diet scam “The researchers also found that the host, cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz, failed to address _ **potential conflicts of interest** _ on his program.” Tell us more, Raw Story! ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-internet-pits-dr-oz/704454/58 "2015-02-05T07:14:43Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Thanks for this thread. I find TV doctor shows to be boring and padded, so I don’t watch them. I think I noticed once that they were full of dorky trending ideas or something someone came up with in the absence of dorky trending ideas. > > So I never really noticed that Dr Oz was a quack and a charlatan pushing woo. Good to know. You must have an awesome spam filter. I don’t watch live TV, ever, and I don’t even live in the US. But I am well aware of Dr. Oz’s connection to unproven supplements and the like, because about half the spam that gets through my filter is titled something along the lines of “As Endorsed by Dr. Oz: Miracle Diet Pill!” In fact, I think spam is how I found out Dr. Oz exists. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-internet-pits-dr-oz/704454/59 "2015-02-05T08:00:15Z")
I think he must have been watching _The Daily Show_ one night when a commercial came on featuring Smilin’ Bob, and he was transfixed, and he said, “I wanna be _that_ guy!” ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-internet-pits-dr-oz/704454/60 "2015-02-09T02:09:02Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > He’s married to a freakin’ Reiki master. That’s like Madalyn Murray O’Hair marrying the Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Israel. I did not know this! That explains why he had some 9 or 10 year old Reiki practitioner on his show and acted like her “treatments” were real. (I was in a patient’s house and they were watching Dr. Oz) What utter quackery! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-internet-pits-dr-oz/704454.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-internet-pits-dr-oz/704454.md?page=4)